Trade tops agenda as China's Xi Jinping and EU meet in Beijing

Getting to know you… again.

It's the first in-person EU-China summit since 2019. A lot has happened since then, and we have heard from Beijing and numerous leaders of EU member states that it is vital to get the face-to-face meetings back on track.

The sitdown between President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, European Council President Charles Michel and President of the EU Commission Ursula Von Der Leyen in Beijing has trade at its root.

The European side wants to see more going from EU ports towards China. Before the trip, Von Der Leyen said the "imbalance is visible," adding "in other words, when you have three containers coming from China to Europe, two of them go back empty."

The trade deficit between China and the EU is around $420 billion annually.

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine is also likely to be discussed. The EU leaders are expected to try to convince Beijing to distance itself from Moscow. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has recently noted the "futility of attempts to resolve the crisis without taking into account the interests and especially without the participation of Russia."

This summit comes off the back of a meeting last month between Xi and his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden. That was seen as a success in easing the relationship. 

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A similar result from the meeting with Von Der Leyen and Michel would be much appreciated in EU member states like Germany, which do hundreds of billions of dollars of trade with China annually. 

Trade between Berlin and Beijing was worth around $320 billion last year. As Germany looks to address its current economic slump in business with its biggest global trading partner, it will be crucial. 

A smoother relationship between Brussels and Beijing would make that easier for all.

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